The Fear of Retaliation
by KH777
Summary: It was a common known fact for anyone who knows Shizuo Heiwajima that he's fiercely protective of his younger brother. However, this isn't always a positive trait. When assaulted on his way home, Kasuka attempts to hide his wounds from the world for fear of the backlash that his elder brother will inflict. However, it is difficult to hide when his wounds are nowhere near minor.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a** ** _Durarara!_** **fan fiction so obviously I don't own it. The cover art is fan art of that same anime that I was unable to find the owner of. It's also NOT incest or yaoi, cause I'm not a fan of such things. The time this is based in is pretty close to the beginning of the canon series before Kasuka meets Ruri… because I'm not a fan of her either. Also, I've loved Celty and her relationship with Shizuo since the beginning, but I couldn't find a place to add her in my fan fictions until now.**

Yuhei Hanejima stumbled into the front door of his apartment, barely managing to lock the door behind him with shaky hands. His chocolate brown hair was matted down with sweat and a little bit of crimson. Bruises marred his face and continued down his chest. One of his shoulders was soaking blood into his shirt and jacket. Limping, he made his way to the bathroom. Once he arrived, his knees buckled as he halfway collapsed, reduced to his hands and knees. Frowning slightly, he mused. _How will I see the mirror to properly bandage myself?_

However, he swiftly remembered that he had a handheld mirror. The first aid kit was within reach as well. After he had managed to retrieve them, he dealt with his head injury first. He cleaned off the blood and sweat before wrapping it up in a bandage. Systematically, he cleaned off and dressed the rest of his wounds, visible winces briefly displaying on his face. The only thing left was to take a shower in the morning and… tell his brother that he couldn't meet him at Russia Sushi tomorrow. He would have gone in disguise of course, lest he be followed by a mob of eager fans. It's not like anyone knew his real name anyway. However, with his wounds… He couldn't see Shizuo right now. That was for one reason and one reason only:

So that Shizuo Heiwajima would not become a murderer.

Thus, no one must know of what befell him tonight. Not the media, not his manager, not his brother… Kasuka wondered if perhaps Shizuo would actually kill anyone if he saw this. He had beaten innumerable people, but truly, the only person he seemed to want to kill was Izaya. However, he couldn't risk the very real possibility. He would at least break every bone he could. After all, he became easily angered when it involved him, it was an indisputable fact. Endless reminders of the fact floated through his mind.

Like when some men had criticized and spilled coffee on the bartender's uniform that Kasuka had given to him. He had snapped the item in his fingertips and spoken with rage about to explode about how it was from his brother, before attacking them.

 _That's why, no matter what I do, I can't let him know._ Kasuka resolved, with a light sigh as he fished for his phone out of his pocket.

Meanwhile…

The blond young man was bubbling with rage, his whole body possessed with trembles. He was tucking his sunglasses in his pocket for safekeeping right before he was about to beat the crap out of the idiot in front of him when he felt a vibration from his pocket. His red hot rage diminishing as he quickly swiped it from his pocket to check who was calling him. However, when he saw the caller ID, his anger burned away swiftly, like it was never there in the first place. His little brother would always take first priority in his mind; he loved him the most out of anyone, not that he would say it. It was obvious through his actions though. Many people in the city who knew him steered away from the topic entirely knowing the slightest insult to his brother could turn him in a rage… Or even to an object his brother had given him. He even wore the multiple bartender outfits he possessed everyday simply because his brother gave it to him.

 _I'm sorry, something has come up with work and I can't meet with you tomorrow._

Frowning in disappointment, and a tickle of irritation, he texted a reply. _That's fine, I understand. Any ideas on when you'll be free?_

Shizuo wondered if Tom would be willing to let him leave early if necessary. He didn't want to miss an opportunity to spend time with his brother.

 _Not at the moment. I'll let you know when I do._

 _Okay, thanks._

…..

Leaning against the wall of the bathroom, the cocoa eyed twenty-one year old awoke because of the vibration from his phone on the cold bathroom floor. Groggily, his eyes opened slowly before they widened slightly in surprise. In a few seconds, he remembered what befell him the night before. With blurry eyes, he groped for his phone and to check why it had disturbed his rest. The time read 8:00 AM.

 _Oh, I'll need to hurry or I'm going to be late._ Kasuka thought, as he checked his texts. A slight frown beset on his features when he noticed it was from his elder brother.

 _Kasuka, do you still need a ride?_

 _Kasuka?_

 _You alright?! Did you oversleep?!_

Sighing, he now remembered that his car was in for maintenance. In his haste to care for and hide his injuries, he had forgotten. He thought of saying no, for fear that Shizuo would notice something was not right. But he decided that it would be for the best to save his energy for work. Staggering upright, he decided to skip the shower and instead spend his remaining time applying some concealer on the bruises on his face. Quickly he replied to his brother who was probably concerned by now.

 _Yes, sorry. I overslept a little._

The reply was almost instantaneous.

 _It's fine. But don't push yourself too hard!_

 _I'm alright._

 _You better be! I'll head over there now._

Fifteen minutes later, Shizuo was waiting for him in front of his home. Taking a deep breath, Kasuka stepped out of his apartment. Normally, it wouldn't be difficult for him to act natural, since he rarely showed any emotion in his face and voice. But… Shizuo knew him better than anyone else and could detect even the slightest of changes. He was also suspicious already.

Shizuo was leaning casually against the car. Once he noticed his younger brother approach, he doused his cigarette and put it in a small container. "Ready to go?"

"Yes." Kasuka nodded, as he attempted to ignore his eyes on him. Shizuo's eyes were monitoring his every move, watching if he had the slightest wobble as he headed into the passenger's seat. Not quite convinced, Shizuo frowned and sat in the driver's seat. Once they begun to drive, he spoke. "Overslept, huh? That doesn't seem like you."

"Mistakes do happen." Kasuka replied in his usual monotone, choosing his words carefully.

"Hmm." Shizuo didn't seem to be quite convinced. "If you're tired you should take as much time off as you need."

"I'll be taking time off to spend with you."

"…If you're tired, we could just stay at home."

"Perhaps we will."

Silence reined between them after that statement. Normally, Kasuka would not have found it anything abnormal, but he couldn't help but feel tense. With the dense pedestrian traffic ruling much of the streets during the day, they were forced to take the longer route. Once they arrived and stepped out, Shizuo called after him. "Don't hesitate to call me if you need anything."

"Right, thank you." Kasuka agreed. Once he headed into work, he stepped carefully to conserve energy. Unfortunately, he missed a step as he was climbing up a set of stairs. The offset of his balance caused him to tumble into the steps, causing a small yelp to escape his throat. Wincing, he held his wounded shoulder, hoping the wound was not reopened by the blow.

"Are you alright, Yuhei?! You took quite the fall."

Glancing up to a man with a blond afro and white suit, Kasuka took a deep breath to work through the pain before standing upright. "Yes… I'm fine."

"Well, alright then. Shall we get started?"

Nodding, Kasuka followed him further into the building.


	2. Chapter 2

While Shizuo was performing his job as Tom's bodyguard, his mind was wandering. He worried about his younger brother Kasuka. The blond was certain he seemed off today. Either he was tired, or distracted, he wasn't sure which one. Though, he leaned more towards tired due to him oversleeping. _I wonder if he was lying about the reason he canceled our meet-up, and he was just too tired to do it._ His thoughts soon turned to irritation threatening to become rage. _He should just come out and tell me what's wrong!_

His employer said nothing, for concern that prying into what he had on his mind would anger him. Half way through his working hours, a phone call buzzed from his pocket. Noticing it was from Kasuka, his eyes widened. "Sorry, gotta take this."

"Go ahead." Tom waved him off.

 _"_ _Excuse me, is this Yuhei's older brother?"_

For a split second, his expression flashed rage, thinking some unknown person had stolen Kasuka's phone. However, he calmed down when he recognized this voice. It was someone who worked with him. Inhaling deeply and exhaling, Shizuo responded. "Yeah, that's me. Did something happen?"

 _"_ _Yes, well you see… He tripped on the stairs this morning and now he injured himself on a prop. I think it's best if you come and take him home for the day. "_

The blond felt trickles of rage mixed with worry well in his gut. _I knew he wasn't his normal self! He should have stayed home! Idiot!_ Swallowing harshly and attempting to control the rage beginning to well inside, Shizuo responded through grit teeth. "I'll be there to pick him up as soon as possible."

 _"_ _Erm… Alright. Take care on your way here."_ The other man said cautiously, cutting the call.

Sighing harshly, Shizuo frowned. _I hope he didn't get too messed up…_

"Something come up?" Tom questioned.

"Yeah, sorry to leave you high and dry but it's urgent."

"Nah, it's fine. We'll just work a little extra tomorrow."

Nodding, Shizuo headed off.

….

Lying down, Kasuka sighed. Unfortunately for him, his shoulder wound was more severe than he had thought, and was reopened when he had fallen on the stairs. He hadn't noticed it at first until it had soaked his shirt and threatened to sink into his violet coat as well. Before that could happen, Kasuka hurriedly headed to the bathroom, hiding in one of the stalls. He ended up stuffing the wound with paper products until the bleeding stopped. The bandages were completely soiled but he hadn't any replacement; so, with no other choice, he left them on. He couldn't even change his shirt or retrieve a first aid kit without being suspicious. All he could do was finish work and hurry home before the wound became infected.

The loss of blood and previous injuries made him dizzy and his mind fuzzy. Regardless, he had almost made it through the day. Others he worked with seemed to notice he was not feeling like himself, and expected little of him for today. Still, he had tripped over a prop and knocked over something made of glass, causing light cuts on his forehead and eyelid (but not his eye thankfully). He had bandages at the upper left of his face now. So now, he lied down thoroughly defeated. Maybe it was useless to try and hide his injuries from Shizuo; certainly, he was extremely suspicious of him by now. Kasuka wouldn't put it past him to demand that he tell him what's wrong.

"He's here, Yuhei. Do you need help on the way out?"

Kasuka didn't even want to waste the energy to figure out who was talking to him. It made little difference. "No, I'm fine."

Carefully, with slow steps, Kasuka headed outside to meet his elder brother. As soon as he heard footsteps, Shizuo whipped around to face him, his eyebrows and lips dipping in borderline anger. "What the _heck_ were you thinking, Kasuka!?"

He closed the distance between them and clutched his shirt with one fist. If it had been most anyone else, Shizuo would have beaten them already, but his love for his brother allowed him to control himself. Mostly. Unblinking, with no expression displaying on his face, Kasuka stared back at him. For some reason, he found no fear in his heart despite the fact that he probably should. It had always been that way, no matter what his elder brother did, no matter how close he came to hurting him, the brunet was never afraid. His heart never increased his speed, and his mind never reeled at the idea that he may be injured. For no matter what happened, he loved his brother and couldn't find it in himself to worry about what he would do to him. So far, Shizuo had never actually wounded him. He'd rather keep it that way.

"You were right. I'm sorry. I was being careless."

Sighing, Shizuo inhaled deeply and released his grip. "Well, as long as you understand your mistake… Don't do something _stupid_ like that again and it's fine."

"Alright." Kasuka agreed, having learned his lesson. If there is a next time, he'll just lie and say he has a fever, instead of trying to pretend nothing was wrong. Satisfied with his response, Shizuo was calm and brushed away his bangs where the bandage was, to receive a closer look.

"What happened to your face?"

"Ah. I knocked over glass when I tripped on a prop."

"Crap! It didn't hit your eye did it?!"

"No, don't worry."

Shaking his head, Shizuo gestured with his hand. "C'mon, I'll take you home."

Gratefully, Kasuka headed into the passenger's seat and let some of his guard down. His mind told him it wasn't a good plan, in case Shizuo tries to figure out the reason for his tiredness… Or maybe he'll just automatically chalk it up to overworking. That would be nice. If he asks, Kasuka made a note to lie and say that was the reason for his crappy condition. He wondered if Shizuo could tell when he was lying. The tiniest of variations to his facial features or demeanor, he seemed to be able to catch. However, Kasuka wasn't sure if he was perceptive enough to figure out what they meant. Leaning his head back against the seat, Kasuka allowed his eyes to slide closed…


	3. Chapter 3

"Kasuka, we're-" Glancing over to his younger brother, he noticed his state. Eyes closed and the soft tempo of the rising and falling of his chest notified him that the young man was sleeping. Good. He could use the rest. Not desiring to wake him, Shizuo carefully lifted him up and placed him on his back before heading into his apartment.

Intent on staying to care for his little brother, Shizuo gently set him down on his bed before pacing into the other room. However, he hadn't a clue what he was looking for. He realized he wasn't even sure what was wrong with Kasuka and he sure as heck was no medical expert. Sighing, he gave up and decided to ask Kasuka about it when he woke up. The elder blond perched himself on a chair near where Kasuka was lying.

Unfortunately, a few hours later, that idiot just _had_ ruin everything! Why couldn't he just leave him alone!? Once he checked his phone for the new text, he knew instantly who it was from, and boy did it make his blood boil!

 _Hey Shizu-chan! Not in Ikebukuro today I see! Are you busy taking care of someone?_

 _How in the heck does that flea know-?!_ Growling in fury, he smashed his fingers in the buttons.

 ** _IZAYA_** _! How did you get this number?!_

 _Secret. You know, I heard that Kasuka wasn't feeling too hot_ today _, I wonder why that is~?_

 _IF YOU HAVE_ _ **ANYTHING**_ _TO DO WITH THIS, I WILL_ _ **BREAK EVERY BONE**_ _IN YOUR-_

Crack. The buttons that the twenty-three-year-old had been mashing were done with his abuse and refused to function any longer. Cursing the device in his fingertips, he sent the message anyways and only resisted breaking the device in his palms the rest of the way because he wanted to know Izaya's reply.

 _I don't, but I do know who does. I could tell you, with a price of course._

Staring at the message blankly, some of Shizuo's fury turned to confusion. _Did someone do something bad to Kasuka or is Izaya just pulling my leg to tick me off?!_

Muttering curses to Izaya, he heard a noise originating from his left. Immediately, his gaze locked onto the brunet who was already awake and sitting up. His rage must have woken him, that dang flea! Tossing the phone to the ground with more force than was necessary, he inhaled and exhaled with deep breathes to calm himself down. "Sorry for waking you, Kasuka."

"It's fine." Kasuka responded evenly before glancing down at the device with a flash of concern in his eyes and his mouth ever so slightly tipped downwards. What if Izaya knew who attacked him and told Shizuo because he _wanted_ him to be convicted for murder? He was an info broker so it would be no surprise if he had somehow learned of his assailant's identity.

Brought out of his thoughts by a hand on his shoulder, his chocolate eyes met Shizuo's. "Hey, what's wrong?"

Swallowing harshly, Kasuka lied with a flawless poker face. "I was just concerned of you becoming injured in a fight with him."

"Don't worry about _him_." Shizuo scoffed in disgust at the mention of the raven haired man whom shall not be named. "I'm going to stay here and… erm, help you if you need it."

"Thank you." Kasuka said, a smile tugging at the edges of his lips. Abruptly remembering his reopened shoulder wound that hadn't been properly accounted for, Kasuka excused himself and headed into the bathroom. As he removed his dark violet jacket and lavender shirt, he saw his wounds in full view. Flinching, his eyes were drawn to his shoulder wound that had become a sickly velvet mess. He wondered if it was infected, it certainly looked the part. That was not all his troubles, unfortunately. The bruises were becoming multiple shades of ugly colors like a gruesome piece of art and his face was paling from the loss of blood. However, in a calculated attempt to clean off the wound properly, a spike of agony shot through his shoulder causing a yelp to leave his throat as he toppled to the ground.

"Kasuka!?" Alarmed, Shizuo came bounding up to the door and banged on it enough to rattle the hinges. "Are you alright!? Hey!"

Only managing to wait a few measly seconds, not nearly enough time for Kasuka to recover, the elder blond effortlessly tore the locked door from its hinges. After tossing it away carelessly so it was out of his way, his gaze locked onto his dear brother. When he did however, his eyes widened and his mouth was agape. It did not stay agape long before his loud cursing put a sailor to shame. Kneeling, he was too stupefied to do anything but stare for several seconds. He recovered, and a couple words tumbled out of his mouth. "A-are you okay…?! What in the-"

Inhaling shallowly, Kasuka scowled. What a fool he was thinking he could hide his injuries from the world… It would have been better if he had contacted Shinra and asked if he could hide his injuries from Shizuo. However, it was too late now for a change of plans now… "I…"

"Y-you should save your energy." Shizuo frowned, visibly shaken with the slight trembling of his voice and hands. Kasuka could not say he was surprised, but it was a rarity. He could count the times on one hand where he had seen his tougher than bricks brother alarmed like this. "I'll take you to Shinra, he'll patch you up."

Without warning, Shizuo swiped his jacket and wrapped him in it gently before scooping him up in his arms and heading down to the car. Before he left however, a thought passed through his mind; for, driving was probably a terrible idea with how frazzled and bent towards rage he was at the moment. If he rammed into another car right now, it could hurt Kasuka even more than he already was. Reluctantly, he set down his beloved brother and texted Celty.

 _CELTY! Come to Kasuka's right NOW, it's an emergency!_

On the other line, the headless rider had been parked, just about to head home from her transporter business for the day when her phone vibrated from her pocket. Curious at who was texting her, but expecting it to be a text from Shinra, she opened up her phone. Alarmed when she was met by a frantic text from Shizuo, she swiftly texted out a response.

 _Of course, I'll be there right away._

Hopping onto her bike, she attempted to recall where Kasuka's apartment was. Shizuo or Shinra had pointed it out a few times but she had never actually visited (or even met Kasuka for that matter). Frowning, she made a quick text to Shizuo asking for the address which was eagerly offered to her within seconds. Celty was used to high-speed motorcycle rides due to chases by police or for her transporter duties so she easily weaved between cars and people to arrive as fast as possible.

When she arrived in front of the building, she found Shizuo nervously pacing in front of the complex. Gratefully, he spoke. "Thank for coming, Celty!"

 _It's no problem at all. What happened?_ Celty displayed the words on her phone for Shizuo to see as she normally did.

"I have no idea, but Kasuka's hurt bad and we need to take him to Shinra as soon as possible!" Shizuo growled, before glancing down at her bike. "But I don't want him getting beat up on the way."

Tapping her fingers on the device for a few moments in thought, Celty nodded in affirmation before forming out of shadows an enclosed carrying car attached to the motorcycle. It was tiny and barely large enough to fit a human. Shizuo probably would have hit his head on the ceiling; although, Kasuka was a bit smaller so he should be fine.

Satisfied, Shizuo leaped up the steps, almost tripping, as he headed back to retrieve Kasuka, who was now wearing a cleaner replica of his shirt and jacket. The articles of clothing were slowly becoming soiled by his bloody shoulder.

"We're going, Celty's here," Shizuo announced as he headed over to carry Kasuka on his back. The brunet accepted the ride, to save energy and avoid aggravating his brother further. It was only a little bit of time before Shizuo placed him into Celty's mini car before climbing behind Celty. "Hurry, but don't jostle him too much, okay?!"

Nodding to show she understood, she encouraged Shooter with a pat before speeding off with a roar from her stead. Shizuo clutched onto to the side of the motorcycle horse to avoid falling off.


	4. Chapter 4

As they were heading inside, Celty went in first while keeping a close eye on Shizuo in fear he may break someone or something. Hearing the sound of the door opening, the lab coat wearing man came bounding towards the door. "Celty~! You're home-"

Pausing mid-step, Shinra's eyes widened as he glanced behind her at Shizuo and the brunet on his back. "Whoa, did something happen?"

Growling, Shizuo stepped forward so that he was beside Celty rather than behind her. "Of course something happened, you idiot! Kasuka is hurt and needs help!"

Shinra raised his hands to his shoulders in surrender and in an attempt to calm down Shizuo. Honestly, if he was not scared of being assaulted, he would have been rather touched that Shizuo trusted him with his brother's care. "Okay, okay, follow me."

Willingly, the blond followed after him to the medical room where the underground doctor took care of his patients. He ushered Shizuo to lie him down on a medical bed which he did without complaint. However, Shizuo stood like a brick wall when Shinra gestured to the door in a weak attempt for him to leave. Glancing towards Celty in a pleading gesture, Shinra spoke, choosing his words carefully. "Shizuo, I can't focus properly with you standing there..."

"Why not!?"

"Because-"

"Brother, it's okay. I'll be fine, you can go." Kasuka encouraged, supporting Shinra's statement. They weren't empty words either. His wounds weren't life threatening, at least not yet, so he was confident that the man who had patched up his older brother many times could do a decent job.

Softening from a scowl to a frown, Shizuo turned towards him. "Y-you sure?"

Momentarily shocked, Shinra and Celty shared a look with each other, both wondering if their ears were lying to them. Shizuo rarely ever stammers.

"Yes, I can call for you if I need you."

"Alright." Gazing back towards Shinra, his face contorted to a dreadful smirk, quietly threatening violence. "If you _screw_ this up, I'll _kill you_. Understand?"

"I won't mess up, promise." Shinra reassured nervously.

Sighing, Shizuo headed back towards the living room, followed by Celty. Once they were out of earshot, Shinra smiled towards Kasuka, equal parts amused and genuinely impressed. "Wow, you really have him wrapped around your finger, don't you?"

"...You make me sound manipulative when you say it like that."

"You don't deny it though."

 _It is true. If he was not in a rage, he would do almost anything I ask of him._ Kasuka acknowledged. Though, it wasn't too odd, considering very few people were attached to Shizuo and possessed a platonic relationship with him. Almost everyone he knew either was afraid of him and/or hated him and called him a monster. So, it wasn't that unusual that Shizuo was so attached to him as his younger brother. He wanted to help him in any way he could for all the trouble he's caused for Kasuka throughout his life.

"Ah, we haven't seen each other in a while, have we? I'm Shinra Kishitani, but you hopefully knew that already." Shinra grinned. "It's nice to see you again. I'm quite a fan of yours."

"Yes. My name is Kasuka Heiwajima."

"Now that the reintroductions are out of the way, let's get down to business. Where are the rest of your injuries? I can't see them from here, but considering how Shizuo was acting, they must be serious." Shinra transitioned.

Obediently, Kasuka removed the upper half of his clothing, and the concealer on his face. "…I also have a head injury."

"I see why he's so worried then." Shinra frowned, eyeing the injuries and picking up some pain-killing medicine. "I'm going to dull the pain as much as I can, because if Shizuo hears anything, he's going to burst in here and kill me. I warn you though that the medicine has the side effect of removing filters and making you loopy."

 _I hope I don't reveal my assailant's name in my state. Though it may just be a matter of time before Shizuo figures out whom it was. Maybe the man has some sense and is far away from here._ Kasuka's lips quirked downwards in a slight frown. "…Alright."

In the room nearby… Pacing across the room, Shizuo scowled worriedly. Desiring to occupy him, and answer questions rolling around in her mind, Celty questioned.

 _I was wondering why you went to Shinra instead of going to a regular hospital?_

Not expecting the question, Shizuo took a seat on the couch and paused for several moments in thought. "Hmm… Well, I didn't think about it at the time. I always go to Shinra when I'm hurt so it was just my first thought. Thinking about it now though, this is better anyways. I trust Shinra more than some random doctor at a hospital, plus, Kasuka didn't seem to want to be found out."

At the thought, Shizuo scowled, irritation that didn't become full blown rage due to the concern welling in his gut. "What was he _thinking_?! He isn't usually an idiot like that!"

Celty knew the reason right away, but didn't want to be the one to break it to him. Grumbling, Shizuo stood back up, continuing his pacing.

…

Musing to himself, Izaya sat in his office, wondering how best to handle the situation in front of him. His hand hovered indecisively in front of the chess pieces in front of him. _I had absolutely nothing to do with the attack on Shizu-chan's brother but he's no doubt going to blame it on me, especially with my taunt earlier._ The raven thought with a demonic smirk. He thought it was worth it though, to be able to easily toy with the unpredictable man he hated so much.

He would be lying if he said that he had never considered causing _something_ terrible to befall his younger brother before. But, he had eventually relented, because he knew how protective Shizu-chan was and he rather enjoyed living. Even if he did do something, he would make sure he was there to protect his brother so that he wouldn't get hurt.

Still, this was one of the many things he loved about humans! That even without his input, craziness would ensue that he would ruthlessly take advantage of. That was what he was contemplating now. How could he best handle the situation in front of him to his advantage without being utterly mauled by Shizu-chan's "brotherly love"?

Scoffing as his smirk became bitter, Izaya growled internally, _that a monster like him could love and be loved in return, how disgusting._ However, he had to give credit where credit was due; for, Kasuka had done a spectacular job of hiding his injuries despite being heavily in the public spotlight. He had only even had any notion that he wasn't in perfect health when he had injured himself at his job today. It had been written off as overworking or a cold on the news, but Izaya couldn't help but investigate.

It had taken hours of research for him to find anything remotely out of the ordinary. He kept at it regardless, wanting to know if there was something he could take advantage of to deal a blow to the soft spot of the brute. He had only managed to find a gloat in a private chat room of a supposed assailant boasting that he had beaten up Yuhei and gotten away with it. Investigating the sender, he had managed to locate the attacker's name, Yamato Mishima.

Once he had, he felt chills of excitement run through his veins as a devilish grin filled his features. He knew something that Shizu-chan wanted to know, and he was the only person to know. Well, it was a definite possibility that Kasuka also knew the identity of his attacker, but, judging by how he had hidden his injures, it seemed clear that he didn't want his elder brother to know. Izaya doubted that he would force his dear brother to tell him, so that left him with one option. The strongest man in Ikebukuro was at _his_ mercy. This was utterly glorious! He couldn't waste such a golden opportunity!

So, now speeding up to current time, he still wasn't certain what exactly he wanted to do. Preferably something that wouldn't get him mauled either. He knew he hadn't much longer to decide. The brute was bound to come into the streets with fury in attempting to locate the attacker and would come straight for him. Oh well, whatever he decides on doing, no doubt it'll be _premium_ entertainment.

…..

A while later, Shinra had barely stepped outside the door when Shizuo came bounding forward. "How is he!?"

"Don't worry, he'll be fine. Though he has a mild head injury so we should make sure he stays awake, just in case. Also, partially due to the infection in his shoulder, he's heavily medicated-"

Unable to listen to his friend speaking anymore and instead needing to see for himself, he roughly brushed past him. His eyes locked onto his younger brother, eyes immediately drawn to the bandages wrapping around his chest, and forehead. Also, was it just his imagination or were the bruises on his face not there before? Besides that though, something was… off.

Once their chocolate eyes locked, he figured out what it was as Kasuka gave an uncharacteristically huge grin. "I'm happy to see you, Brother! Come closer!" He chided, gesturing forward with his hand. Raising an eyebrow at the odd behavior, he sent a glare towards Shinra's way.

"As I was trying to say, he's loopy and has no filter due to the medicine." Shinra explained.

"Whatever." Shizuo shrugged it off and obeyed his brother's request, pulling up a chair to his bedside. Once he did, Kasuka leaned towards him and laid his head against his shoulder. Carefully, Shizuo patted his back. "How do you feel? You doing okay?"

"I feel okay now, the pain has gone away."

"That's good." Shizuo hesitated for a minute or two before deciding to ask the question burning in his mind. He felt guilty for taking advantage of the fact that the brunet was not in proper mind, but he feared that he may not answer the question truthfully if he was. Shizuo hated to admit it, but, with his face betraying little emotion, he could lie through his teeth and he would have no clue. How many times had he lied to him just today?! He needed a straight, truthful answer. "How come you hid your injuries from everyone and from me? Do you realize what could have happened to you?!"

Shifting back to an upright position due to his brother raising his voice near his ears, which were now ringing, he gazed at Shizuo owlishly. "I didn't want you to kill anyone."

Eyes widening and mouth agape, Shizuo shook his head in protest. "Don't do that, idiot! You've already done enough things for me."

"You have too…" Kasuka smiled. The twenty-three year old ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath to release the tension bubbling inside. It was unsettling, to see his brother display emotion so readily and easily, even if it was from medicine. Even when they were young, he couldn't remember ever seeing him like this.

"Uh, is this a bad time…?" Shinra asked timidly, holding a glass of water, followed by Celty. As Shizuo sent a glare his way and opened his mouth, the younger boy spoke first.

"No, it's fine, come in."

Grumbling, Shizuo said nothing, as the lab coat wearing man couldn't resist a playful smirk.

 _Wow, Shinra was right. Shizuo will do anything Kasuka asks of him._ Celty noted in her mind.

"You know Shizuo, it's not a good idea to raise your voice in front of a patient. He needs calm and peaceful talk right now."

"It's alright. I'm completely numb to it." Kasuka reassured, which was honestly not reassuring but understandable since he grew up alongside Shizuo Heiwajima.

"Gimme that and get out." Shizuo scowled, snatching the glass from Shinra.

"Alright, alright, I'm gone."

When it was safe for Kasuka to sleep and he was asleep, Shizuo headed out the door without a word to Shinra and Celty. It took about a half hour for Shinra to notice, and when he did, he rushed towards her. "Celty! Shizuo's gone out! He must be after the guy who attacked Kasuka, we gotta stop him or he'll actually kill someone or worse yet, Izaya will get him killed! Or he'll kill Izaya!"

 _I'll go after him. You should stay here with Kasuka. We shouldn't leave him alone._ Celty reasoned.

"Right, right, just be careful, alright?" Shinra sighed.

 _I will, don't worry._ She reassured, before heading out.


End file.
